The Gauhati High Court has issued a notice to the Assam government in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed on Tuesday. The PIL seeks to protect the original structure of the Kamakhya Temple from any disturbance caused by the proposed ‘Maa Kamakhya Temple Access Corridor’.
The petition also requests the State to refrain from proceeding with the construction of the corridor without obtaining prior approvals and clearances from the Department of Archaeology under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958.
Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi and Justice Suman Shyam, presiding over the division bench, have instructed the State to submit its response within two weeks.
Senior Advocate Shobha Gupta, representing the petitioners, highlighted the significance of the Kamakhya Temple, stating its importance not only nationally but also internationally. She pointed out a tweet by the State’s Chief Minister and a four-minute video depicting extensive construction plans, which include tripling the current area and constructing a basement, requiring excavation. The plans also involve widening the staircases leading to the main temple.
Gupta emphasized that the deities in the Kamakhya Temple are not installed manually but are natural deities. Any damage caused cannot be rectified by reinstalling another statue. She explained that there are natural water springs within the temple premises, considered as deities with different names of “dus mahavidyas”. Only two of these are statues, while the rest are natural water springs.
She further argued, “We do the sparsh darshan, so the worshippers do touch the water that is considered as touching the feet of the god. My lords.. any damage, any excavation, any broadening of thing…we have a serious concern as worshippers that it should not cause damage to the original structure.”
